Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness, characterized by gradual damage to the optic nerve and resultant visual field loss. Early diagnosis and optimal treatment have been shown to minimize the risk of visual loss due to glaucoma. The hallmark of glaucomatous progression is cupping of the optic nerve head.
One way of determining the amount of cupping is planimetry by experienced glaucoma specialists from stereo color photographs of the optic nerve head. Recently, computerized retinal imaging methods such as Heidelberg Retinal Tomography (HRT), Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and GDx that offer tomography or nerve fiber layer thickness imaging have become available; however, these have not replaced the stereo photographs of the optic disc. What is needed are methods and systems for automated planimetry that allows cupping of the nerve head to be determined objectively, and quantitatively from stereo photographs of the optic nerve.